Toilet Venting Adapter and Methods for Toilet Ventilation

ABSTRACT

The invention is a simple and economical device and a method combination that adds a venting capability to a conventional tank and bowl toilet. The purpose of the invention is the efficient and safe removal of gaseous matter introduced to the toilet bowl, by extraction of the gas through elements of the original toilet and the elements of the invention, with the advantage of avoiding airborne odors entering the room air from the toilet bowl. Advantages over the prior art are economy of parts and unique safety processes that preclude interference with or creation of unsanitary conditions from the liquid/solid removal processes of the unmodified toilet.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH

Not Applicable

SEQUENCE LISTING OR PROGRAM

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND

1. Field of Invention

This invention relates to ventilation adaptation of conventional tank/bowl toilets.

2. Description of Prior Art

Mainstream modem toilets do not have built-in systems for elimination of air-borne odors originating near or in the toilet bowl. In typical, currently available toilets, such odors are commonly entrained within room air and sometimes beyond the room in which the toilet resides into other living spaces before eventually being evacuated by room exhaust fans installed in the ceilings of the room or rooms. Many devices and methods have been patented for adaptation of conventional toilets to provide ventilation through or from the toilet bowl area for elimination. Yet, to date, none of these devices and system methods has made a significant impact upon the prevalence of toilet air-borne odor ventilation toilets in common use.

The prior art includes various adaptation systems for air venting of conventional toilets. Most adaptations employ means that require a sophisticated device requiring a costly manufacturing process to provide the device into the marketplace for use. Other means and devices are unattractive, unsanitary, or are not capable of overall positive outcomes. For all such devices and methods, none have made it into the marketplace to any extent that would allow the average citizen reasonable access to the toilet ventilation technology. One could conclude that there are objections that have limited the devices and methods from reaching the common marketplace.

Objections are speculative, but are surmised to include one or more of the following: 1) Cost of manufacture; 2) Complexity that limits the willingness of manufacturing commitment (related to cost); 3) Technology that does not address all of the technical issues encountered; 4) Aesthetics, based upon appearance of the apparatus; 5) Difficulty of maintaining sanitation and cleanliness of the apparatus or adapted toilet in general.

An example of at least three of these objections is in a most recent patent, 8505123: 1) The device would require very expensive initial tooling of the mold and manufacturing by injection molding; 2) the device is more complex than is necessary for accomplishing the objective; and, 3) The combination of the function of the device and the interruption of the air flow by use of a “motion sensitive switch connected to a movable portion of the refill mechanism” does not address the technical problems of a plugged toilet outlet or a failed flush and/or refill mechanism. In both cases, the apparatus/system would continue to pump even while the “air outlet in the toilet bowl” filled with water or sewage. This would happen because it is only the motion of the user operated flush device that interrupts the fan motor, unless the overall power switch is turned off by the operator.

Yet, this is the only such device found that does interrupt the flow of air under any interfering conditions, a necessary but inadequately functioning operation of the prior art.

OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES

Accordingly, several objects and advantages of this invention are itemized. The primary object is to safely and affordably provide for the removal of gaseous material from in and around the bowl of a conventional, separable tank/bowl toilet. In this object both the device and the method are unique and novel for providing an advantage over the prior art through: 1) Ease of manufacture of the essential and simple device of the invention without need of expensive processes and/or equipment; 2) Affecting minimal impact to the appearance of the conventional toilet; 3) Flexibility for many options to aesthetically accommodate the minimal change to the appearance of the modified toilet; 4) Ease of cleaning of regions where alterations are made; 5) Sanitary and fail-safe operation in all anticipated and realistic situations encountered by conventional toilets; 6) Marketplace availability of all parts necessary for constructing the device and implementing the method, including all combinations described herein; and, 7) Ability to apply a greater volume per unit time (e.g., cubic feet per minute) of airflow due to protective systems of the methods.

SUMMARY

The invention is a device and a method combination that uniquely adds a venting capability to a conventional two piece, tank and bowl assembly toilet. The toilet to which the device and method are applied is originally capable of effectively removing waste solids and liquids from the toilet to the sewer system. The added capability of the invention is the efficient and safe removal of gaseous matter introduced to the toilet bowl by extraction through elements of the original toilet and the elements of the invention with the advantage of avoiding toilet airborne odors entering the room air. The advantage is accomplished without interfering with the original purpose of liquid/solid removal processes of the toilet.

DRAWINGS

There are two drawings, one for the device of the patent, the other for the combination of devices used for the multiple methods described.

FIG. 1 shows the elements of the ventilation adapter—the device of the patent.

FIG. 2 shows the device of the patent installed within a conventional toilet and including other elements of the methods. The method elements are appended, in the drawings, with M1 thru M4, depending on the methods of which they are a necessary part. The solid single lines between devices are the necessary electrical connections for particular methods. The double lines with hatching are the ventilation tubing of the indicated methods and the double line without hatching are the electrode lines utilized for the indicated methods.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS IN DRAWINGS

Device of the Invention

5—Ventilation Adapter

10—Inner Conduit

15—Outer Conduit

20—Conduit-end Structure

25—Side-arm

Devices for Methods of the Invention

30—Toilet

31—Toilet Bowl Assembly

32—Toilet Tank Assembly

33 a—Flush-water Hole of the Bowl Assembly

33 b—Flush-water Hole of the Tank Assembly

34—Ports and Channels of the Bowl Assembly

35—Tank Overflow Tube of the Tank Assembly

40—Ventilation Tube

45—Air-flow Pump

46—Electric Switch

50—Conductance Circuit Interrupter

51—Electrodes of 50

55—Fail-closed Air Valve

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The device and methods described in this section, which are the subjects of this patent, are for the purpose of extracting and eliminating airborne odors within and around the bowl and tank of a conventional two piece toilet. The two piece toilet (30), not a device of the invention, but an essential component of the methods, consists of a tank assembly (31) and a bowl assembly (32) joined together to allow passage of flush water from the tank (32) to the bowl (31) through the conjoined flush-holes (33 a and 33 b) of the tank and bowl assemblies. Such toilet (30) is hereinafter referred to as a “conventional toilet” or simply, “toilet”.

Device of the Invention—Ventilation Adapter

The device of the invention, the ventilation adapter (5), is inserted between the tank (32) and bowl (31) of the toilet (30). The ventilation adapter (5), is a simple double conduit, or tube within a tube, with a side-arm (25) tube as an extension of the outer conduit (15). The double conduit has closure and rigidity provided by the conduit-end structure (20) between walls of the two conduits (10 and 15) at the tank (31), or upper, end of the adapter (5). (Alternatively, the conduit-end structure (20) can be eliminated if the inner conduit and outer conduit are installed independently such that the inner conduit (10) and outer conduit (15) are independently sealed to the bottom of the toilet tank assembly (32).) The bowl end of the double conduit ventilation adapter (5) is open to both conduits. The space between conduit walls is not of a critical dimension but is approximately 0.25″ in the preferred embodiment of the invention as represented in the figures.

The inside diameter of the inner conduit (10) is approximately the diameter of the toilet flush-water holes (33 a and 33 b) of the tank (32) and bowl (31) where joined, which can vary depending on toilet design. Therefore, the inside diameter of the outer conduit (15) is large enough to provide the necessary space between walls, or approximately 0.25″ of space around the entire circumference.

The inner conduit (10) is approximately the same length than the larger diameter outer conduit (15) at the bowl end but can be somewhat shorter or longer provided it does not restrict the flow of air into the outer conduit (15). The conduits (10 and 15) are approximately in the range of 1-3 inches in length but could be longer or shorter depending on needs for the size of the side arm (25) and other toilet (30) and vacuum considerations. The side-arm tube (25) is conjoined to the outer conduit (15) such that it is an extension of the outer conduit (15) providing a change in direction and decrease of diameter of the outer conduit (15). Generally, the side-arm (25) would be approximately 1-2 inches in inside diameter but could conceivably be larger or smaller in diameter.

The inner and outer conduits (10 and 15) are positioned in a vertical orientation when emplaced between the toilet tank/bowl assemblies (31 and 32). The side-arm (25) is conjoined to the outer conduit (15) in a slightly upward (from horizontal) orientation going away from the outer conduit (15) and extending from the back of the toilet (30) as shown in FIG. 2. The bottom rim of the outer conduit (15) wall is sealed to the base of the bowl assembly by conventional means such that the outer conduit (15) wall surrounds the toilet bowl flush-water hole (33 a). The inner conduit (10) wall is positioned such that the toilet bowl flush-water hole has direct passageway for gaseous material to enter the space between the inner conduit (10) and outer conduit (15). The conduit-end structure (20) is sealed to the bottom of the tank assembly with the inner conduit (10) surrounding the flush-water hole of the tank assembly (33 b). The preferred embodiment of the ventilation adapter is with the conduit-end structure (20) forming the sealing surface with the bottom of the tank assembly (32), normally with a gasket or other sealant between the parts. Alternatively, the inner conduit (10) and outer conduit (15) could be sealed to the bottom of the tank assembly (32) independently and the conduit-end structure (20) eliminated.

Essential Devices (not of the Invention) for Methods of the Invention

The methods of the invention include the device of the invention, the ventilation adapter (5), as emplaced between the tank (32) and bowl (31) of the conventional toilet (30). The methods also include the various ports and channels of the bowl assembly (34) that are primarily used for the means of flushing the toilet (30). The methods of the invention employ the ports and channels (34) to move the gaseous material in the opposite direction of the flush water by means of an air-flow pump (45).

In addition to the toilet (30) and the ventilation adapter (5) of the invention, other devices are necessary for the methods of the invention. All methods require additional lengths of ventilation tube (40) leading from the side-arm (25) of the adapter (5) to the required air-flow pump (45) and from the air-flow pump (45) to the exterior where the gaseous material is expelled. The combination of the outer conduit (15) of the ventilation adapter (5), the ventilation tube (40), and the air-flow pump (45) are collectively referred to as the gaseous ventilation pathway.

Optional Devices (not of the Invention) for Methods of the Invention

Optional devices are employed for additional methods. One optional device is a conductance circuit interrupter (50). This device employs the means of sensing the presence of water by way of a low voltage current conductance between electrodes (51). The electrodes (51) are positioned within the inner conduit (10) of the adapter (5) between the toilet tank (31) and the toilet bowl (32) and/or in the side-arm (25) of the adapter (5). When conductance is established between any set of electrodes (51), the circuit to the other devices is interrupted and is timed-off for a pre-set number of seconds before the circuit is allowed to resume, presuming there is no longer conductance between the electrodes (51).

Another optional device used for an alternative method is a fail-closed air valve (55). This low-voltage, conductance-actuated, fail-closed air valve (55) is placed in the ventilation tube (40) prior to the air-flow pump (45). The valve is tuned to the open position when there is normal pressure differential required for unobstructed air flow through the system. The tuning is such that if water or any other dense material should enter the air pathway, the increase in pressure differential at the valve (55) activates the valve (55) to the closed position relative to the air-flow pathway. It will remain in the closed position until the valve is powered off and then activates when turned on again. The fail-closed air valve (55) is also closed when there is no electrical power to the valve (55).

Method Designations and Operations

Method 1 (M1)—This basic method employs the flush-water ports and channels (34) of the toilet (30), the emplaced ventilation adapter (5), the ventilation tube (40) and the air-flow pump (45). The air-flow pump (45) is powered on by a normal household electrical circuit through an electric switch (46) in the room of the toilet. The electric switch (46) could be a switch manually operated, with a timer or other type of switching signal not associated with the toilet mechanisms. Gaseous material is drawn from the toilet bowl through the ports and channels (34). In addition, gaseous material is drawn from the toilet tank by way of the tank overflow tube (35). Gaseous material from both sources is then drawn into the outer conduit (15), and is, therefore, separated from the flush-water pathway upon entering the outer conduit (15) of the adapter (5). The gaseous material is then drawn through the ventilation tube (40) by the air-flow pump (45) and finally expelled from the ventilation tube (40) at the exhaust end. The air-flow pump (45) is then turned off, by the electric switch (46) in the room, prior to flushing the toilet (30).

Method 2 (M2)—This method is the same as M1 except that the device referred to as the conductance circuit interrupter (50) is utilized so that the electric switch (46) of the system does not have to be turned off prior to the toilet (30) being flushed. The function of the conductance circuit interrupter (50) is to stop the air-flow pump (45) when the flush-water is sensed in the inner conduit (10) of the ventilation adapter (5) by the electrodes of the conductance circuit interrupter (51).

Method 3 (M3)—This method is the same as M1 except that the device referred to as the fail-closed air valve (55) is utilized so that the electric switch (46) of the system does not have to be turned off prior to the toilet being flushed. The function of the fail-closed air valve (55) is to close the gaseous ventilation pathway from the toilet (30) to the air-flow pump (45) when there is an increase in pressure differential on the inlet side relative to the outlet side of the fail-closed air valve (55). This occurs when there is obstruction such as water entering the gaseous ventilation pathway. The fail-closed air valve (55) will remain closed until the power has been turned off, the gaseous ventilation pathway has been freed for unobstructed gaseous flow and the power has been turned on again.

Method 4 (M4)—This method is the same as M1 except that it utilizes both the conductance circuit interrupter (50) and the fail-closed air valve (55) in combination. In this method, the conductance circuit interrupter (50) is coupled with the air-flow pump and with the fail-closed air valve (55) so that the electrical current to the fail-closed air valve (55) and the air-flow pump (45) is interrupted when water is present in sensitive areas, as described above, where the electrodes (51) reside. Without electrical current, the valve (55) is closed to air flow through the ventilation tube (40) and the air-flow pump (45) is powered off, therefore adding additional protection to the gaseous ventilation pathway from entrainment of aqueous or solid material, particularly when relatively higher air flow volume rates are utilized. It is repeated here that the fail-closed air valve (55) will close when the toilet becomes overfull at the bowl and the ports and channels of the bowl assembly (34) are obstructed by liquid or solid materials even if the conductance circuit interrupter (50) has not deactivated the power to the devices (45 and 55).

The preferred methods are dependent on the conditions of the application. If the ventilation of the toilet is to be combined with a room ventilation fan, by sharing of an exhaust conduit from the building, or if the ventilation tube (40) is smaller than optimal (<3-4 inches in diameter), or if the ventilation tube (40) or exhaust conduit exiting the building is of substantial length or circuitous route, the preferred method is M4. This method allows for protective features as described above, when utilizing a relatively stronger air-flow pump (45) that may be required for overcoming back-fed air pressure from the described conditions.

When there is access of a relatively large (3-4 inch diameter) ventilation conduit all the way from near the side-arm (20) of the ventilation adapter (5) to the exterior of the building, dedicated solely to the toilet ventilation system of the invention, the preferred method is M2. This method still provides an interruption of gaseous matter flow during the toilet flushing process (primarily so there is no infringement upon the uniform free-flow of flush-water by gravitational acceleration through the ports and channels of the toilet bowl assembly (34)). Yet, a substantially lower-powered air-flow pump (45) is utilized that will maintain adequate gaseous flow for accomplishing the objective of the invention. This combination will avoid the unnecessary use of excess electrical power, limit noise from the air-flow pump (45), and eliminate the cost and complexity of adding the fail-closed air valve (55). The fail-closed air valve (55) is not necessary when the air-flow pump is incapable to accelarate liquid or solid materials to any substantial degree into the outer conduit (15) of the ventilation adapter (5). 

I claim:
 1. A device for attachment to a conventional tank-and-bowl toilet providing an additional conduit through which gaseous matter is extracted from the bowl assembly of said toilet, comprising: a) an inner conduit effectively extending the original channel from the toilet's flush-water hole of the tank assembly to just above and inside the the flush-water hole of the bowl assembly with allowance for space at the lower, bowl-end of said inner conduit for entrance of gaseous material, and b) an outer conduit surrounding said inner conduit, forming a relatively independent, outer concentric channel of approximately one-quarter inch annular width, and c) a side-arm conduit with flow-through connection with, and at an angle greater than horizontal moving away from, said outer conduit, and d) a conduit-end structure at the upper, tank-end, of said device, holding said outer-conduit and said inner conduit in fixed position to one another and as means to maintain separation of materials moving through said conduits.
 2. A method for the extraction, continued separation from liquid and solid materials, and redirection of substantially exclusive gaseous matter from said bowl assembly of said toilet to an external environment, comprising: a) providing said device of claim 1 emplaced between said tank assembly and said bowl assembly of said toilet, such that lower end of said outer conduit is sealed against the surface of said bowl assembly just outside of said flush water hole of said bowl assembly and lower end of said inner conduit maintains adequate space, to approximate outer conduit flow-volume, between outer surface of said inner conduit and the outside edge of said flush-water hole of the bowl assembly, and b) providing an air-flow pump and appropriate ventilation tube from said side-arm of said device to said pump and from said pump through additional appropriate ventilation tube to said external environment, and c) providing an electrical switch to said air-flow pump for controlling power to the process, and d) providing means for protecting said outer conduit, said side-arm, said air-flow pump and said ventilation tube from entrainment of liquid or solid matter, for purposes of sanitary operation, under a variety of anticipated functioning and malfunctioning conditions, comprising: 1) providing said side-arm and said ventilation tube in greater than horizontal angle moving away from said outer conduit, and 2) providing sealed connections wherever independent pieces join, and 3) providing a secondary pathway for air from the room to enter through the tank overflow tube for tank assemblies with this structure, becoming the primary pathway for air to enter said outer conduit if the ports and channels of said bowl assembly become immersed with liquid or solid materials. 